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i have been flying a 9 foot delta for about two years now, which i am very comfortable with, and can handle it quite easily even at high altitudes of 800-900 feet,

i am thinking about going a bit bigger this year to maybe 12 or 16 feet,

i have read a few posts here and there that seem to indicate a 16 foot pulls pretty hard and is hard to handle, i want a kite i can fly without tieing it off/down, i never tie my current kite down, i just fly it,

would a 16 foot be too hard to handle without tieing it down?

i am in canada, where is a good place to buy kites like this? i bought my 9 foot off ebay, but i rarely see 12 or 16 footers on there,

also, what size line would i need for a 12 or 16 footer? i am currently using 150 pound, so im assuming i will need something stronger if i upgrade,

I fly a 12 ft. Sun Oak delta and that kite is a handful in much over 10 mph, it's a moderate pull at lower winds but when you hit the teens... "for-get-about-it". That is unless you want a serious work out. I hand fly the 12 on 150 # line in light winds but would move up to a stronger line for high altitudes or moderate winds.

This kite likes to have something to hold it back a bit when the winds pick up other wise it wants to "over-fly".

Can't put a big kite up that high here in the states without asking for trouble...

Keep in mind that while you might have 800' of line I seriously doubt that the kite is straight above you at that height.... The line will be at an angle so you might actually be around 400-500 vertical ...

I only fly now on ~200' long line for most of my kites....I like being able to see the details!

My usual guide regarding hand fly vs. anchor flying a kite goes a bit like this. Look at the required or intended line weight. Then step on a scale. If line weight exceeds your personal weight, then that kite can take you out if hand flown. At the very least, it can force you into a situation where your options are let go or get dragged. This is not a happy place. So, I anchor anything over 200# line weight. Also, on larger kites, I usually fly with the next stronger available line strength above what's recommended. I just like the additional margin of safety, and large kites can handle the weight. There are great suggestions on anchoring on the links others have mentioned.

As for larger delta kites, you will find all sorts of nice ones on the links scrolling just to the right of this very column. Into the Wind has many to choose from.

Just be careful, and don't forget the gloves. Like an idiot, I put up an 8 foot rok at a festival last year because I was going to do some KAP, and I hadn't anchored it well first because I planned to hand fly and walk it down the beach. Unfortunately, my gloves were just out of reach . . . . and I could barely hold the line and keep it from playing out as there was more wind than I thought when I was setting it up. I was lucky and didn't lose any skin, and managed to bring the kite back down with some help.

I was at another event last year, and a medium size kite (not mine) broke free of the anchor in a gust. The owner chased it down, but lost skin off a couple fingers through line burns when he grabbed it without gloves (to avoid having it end up in Lake Michigan).

I went to step over the line near the anchor point and tripped over it. In the effort to NOT fall on my face I rolled sideways, thus wrapping the line around my ankle. Just as I went to loosen the loop around my ankle a strong gust came along.

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